An internationally renowned counter-money laundering strategist has argued that laws to criminalise terrorism as a 'discrete offence' makes it harder for offenders to be prosecuted and affects attempts to curb its funding.

"Laws to criminalise terrorism as a discrete offence actually militates against the effectiveness of the prosecution effort," Nigel Morris-Cotterill, head of the company group Anti-Money Laundering Network, told the 6th Lawasia Business Law conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

In his summary presentation, he said that laws to criminalise the funding of terrorism was strongly factored against the effectiveness of attempts to combat the funding of terrorism.

"It is therefore argued that there should not be a discrete offence of terrorism but that the question of terrorism should be a matter for sentencing following conviction for one of a number of existing serious offences," he added.

Morris-Cotterill, who is now based in Malaysia, has been a non-practising English solicitor since Oct 1, 2004.

In his paper titled "In Hot Pursuit of Terrorist Funds", he asserted that terrorism is 'cheap' and becomes cheaper as it mutates.

"For terrorists, terrorism is a public relations exercise and when the benefits of one form of terrorism reduce, the nature of the terrorism conducted by groups mutates to maximise the impact of each act whilst reducing the negative implications," he said.

Laws on terrorism have been enacted and other laws tightened on a larger scale ever since the Sept 11 attacks on the United States.

Terrorist funds frozen

Speaking on the last day of the two-day conference, themed 'Revitalised Asia - Roadmap For Sustained Growth', Morris-Cotterill also touched briefly on corporate and secrecy laws which must be restricted to further combat funding of terrorism.

"Professional practices, banks and other secrecy laws act to prevent co-operation between the victims and conduits for funds and repositories of information," he said coming equipped with a quarter of a century experience in tracing proceeds of fraud and other crimes.

"Yet not only are such systems protected but there are even more moves to enlarge them. It is argued here that restrictions on secrecy are an essential element of combatting the funding of future crime and the laundering of proceeds of past crime," he added.

Morris-Cotterill quoting US figures said about US$128 million in terrorist funds have been identified and frozen worldwide since that fateful day in 2001.

Financial institution, especially in countries like Switzerland have come under close scrutiny since Sept11 due their strict secrecy policies which give rise to laundering of dirty money.

The two-day conference is jointly organised by Lawasia - the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific - and hosts the Malaysia Bar Council. It ended today.